Rugby World Cup: Wallabies v England, Foley not flustered by silent treatment

WALLABIES sharp shooter Bernard Foley has never experienced the unusual technique used by local fans to unsettle rival kickers when taking a shot at goal.

CARDIFF, WALES - SEPTEMBER 23: Bernard Foley of Australia kicks at goal during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Australia and Fiji at the Millennium Stadium on September 23, 2015 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

THE Wallabies used their Spring Tour at the end of last year as a dry run for the World Cup in many areas. They are stayed in the same hotel in London, trained at the same school fields and even timed their sessions to avoid peak hour traffic after getting stuck one day.

Michael Cheika almost put the team on the Tube one day to see if it would be a better way to travel.

​The Wallabies will be hoping the best acclimatisation ​success story is no. 10 and goal kicker Bernard Foley, however, who’d never experienced the unusual technique used by local fans to unsettle rival kickers when taking a shot.

Silence. Unnerving, mind-freaking silence.

“It’s a bit different. It’s a bit eerie when the stadium goes quiet instead of everyone yelling at you,” Foley said yesterday.

“When I first did it was at Aviva Stadium last year in Ireland when they were literally dead quiet, and the first couple of kicks were a bit eerie.

“All you could hear was a baby crying or something like that.”

Used to lasers in South America or “chewy on your boot” in Australia, Foley sprayed one but then got used to it.

“That first one sort of shocked me a bit but getting out to kick at Twickenham last year and Aviva, it was fine. So that is definitely where you tap into that knowledge and that experience of having done it before,” Foley said.

It may not be the sexiest of pointscoring options but there is no mistaking that ​accurate ​goal kicking wins World Cups, and Foley is well aware that responsibility sits on his shoulders​ for the Wallabies​.

Bernard Foley’s kicking for goal will be crucial for the Wallabies against England.

At Twickenham on Sunday morning, he’ll have a personal shootout with England’s lethal kicker Owen Farrell who showed how valuable it is to have a reliable radar by kicking flawlessly for six goals.

Unfortunately, Dan Biggar kicked even better for eight goals. It was like watching two golfers shooting for pins on the final day of a Major.

Foley knows he has to pack his Pings for Twickenham.

“Our kicking coach (Chris Malone) has drummed into us that kicking is the most vital aspect of World Cups,” Foley said.

“All World Cups have been won with kicks, or a kick has been a massive factor. So for me, it’s going back to repetition and consistency that we’ve done on the training pitch.

“It’s the processes, if I’m feeling comfortable with my run up and everything then I’m in the zone and able to factor everything else out — just worry about the kick.”

After a poor Super Rugby season and an off night with the boot against Argentina, Foley has re-found his mojo in recent games, missing only two kicks of his last 12 against the USA and Fiji.

“There are definitely times or games or patches where you start thinking about it differently, but if you get back to the simple thought, I’ve got a couple of key things, then it goes smoothly. I’m very comfortable with where things are at the moment,” Foley said.

Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Wallabies v England, Foley not flustered by silent treatment